Following a cadre of strong editorials in favor of NYU’s Greenwich Village expansion plan, the 800-pound gorilla has spoken. Its fur is purple and it is screaming down the protesters in favor of the project. The Times‘ editorial board favors almost every point in NYU’s plan. It is a striking endorsement for a number of reasons, but first, what was written. Read More
The vote of Borough President Scott Stringer has become the hottest commodity since, well, the Park Slope Food Co-op’s Israel vote last night. Everyone is leaning on the Beep to give the project a full-throated yes or no, from construction unions to community groups. No sooner did a group of 44 Village organizations send a letter to Mr. Stringer’s office opposing the plan than the Post has come out with an editorial urging him to support it. Read More
You might read this morning’s editorial in the New York Post, “Time to throw the bums out,” as a knock on the Occupy Wall Street protests. After all, so far the paper has been pretty negative about the whole Zuccotti Park scene, calling it a drug-laden, hippie den that is a breeding ground for sexual malarkey and criminal activity. But it turns out the Post is quite sympathetic to the cause…if you read between the lines. Read More
There was something devilishly brilliant to how Daniel Goldstein, Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, and a handful of lawsuits nearly brought down the massive $4.9 billion Atlantic Yards project. For years, the arena cum condos were held off by one suit after another, first at the federal level, then in the state courts. The legal challenges Read More
Liberals and conservatives don’t agree on much these days, but the Supreme Court’s recent decision to weaken a broad anti-corruption statute was unambiguously unanimous. In ruling that parts of the so-called “honest services” law was far too vague, the Court essentially built on the courtroom cliché that a good prosecutor could indict a ham sandwich. Read More
The more we learn about the failed attempt to rig the bidding process for the Aqueduct racetrack casino, the more we realize just how crooked Albany has become.
Readers no doubt will recall that the long-stalled plan to build a slot-machine casino at the Queens racetrack collapsed several months ago when the state awarded, Read More
It seems like a no-brainer: Why not use modern technology to virtually stamp bullet casings, which often are the sole pieces of evidence left behind at a shooting scene? If those casings can be traced to the gun’s owner, wouldn’t it be easier to catch and jail assailants and murderers?
Dozens of police departments Read More
The world has changed since New York was the nation’s political epicenter, producing presidential nominees in every national election from 1928 to 1948. The state long ago ceded raw political power to the Sunbelt in general and California in particular, content to serve as the political system’s all-important source of campaign cash.
Pundits and political Read More
The saga of Atlantic Yards in downtown Brooklyn may be about to reach a satisfying denouement. One of the most vocal opponents of developer Bruce Ratner’s plans for the site, Daniel Goldstein, has agreed to accept a $3 million payment for his apartment, despite having promised that he would stand his ground.
There are no Read More
Mayor Bloomberg clearly has a thing for open-air plazas, pedestrian malls and al fresco dining. That’s fine—but the question is whether City Hall’s latest plans to reroute vehicular traffic in Manhattan will only worsen gridlock years from now. Snarled traffic makes for snarling motorists and delivery drivers—and that’s bad for business.
Last week, City Hall Read More
